KAKINADA: West Godavari police nabbed one Vellanki Simhadri alias Siva, 38, of Venkatapuram panchayat in Eluru, for allegedly robbing and killing 10 persons in the last 20 months. He offered his victims what he called prasadam and Ayurvedic medicine, but which was actually cyanide.
The police also arrested Sheik Ameenullah alias Babu alias Shankar, 60, of Vijayawada who supplied the cyanide to the killer.
West Godavari superintendent of police Navdeep Singh Grawel said that Siva would tell his victims that he would arrange for ‘rice pulling coins’, which is touted to bring the owner great wealth. and told them to get money to buy the same. He would take them to an isolated place, give them cyanide by claiming it was prasadam. When they died, he would rob the cash, gold or silver jewellery. He would also tell his targets that he would double their money by performing a pooja and the cyanide was administered in the prasadam. Sometimes the cyanide was laced with what he called ayurvedic medicine.
The cyanide was obtained by Babu, whose elder brother Asad ran an electro nickel plating unit for nickel-coat polishing of motorcycle spare parts.
The crime came to light after the killing of teacher Kati Nagaraju in Eluru on October 16.
West Godavari superintendent of police Navdeep Singh Grawel said Nagaraju's brother Kati Venkata Ramana suspected two persons who were the last persons contacted by his brother on his mobile — Siva and Babu.
Altogether, Siva robbed Rs 24.60 lakh in cash and 35.25 sovereigns of gold.
